A spirited second-half comeback by the Sydney Roosters wasn't enough to defeat the Canberra Raiders, falling 24-14 at GIO Stadium in the first NRLW clash between Clubs on Saturday afternoon.
Trailing by 18 until the 51st minute, the Roosters scored three consecutive tries through Brydie Parker, Tarryn Aiken and Keeley Davis to set up a grandstand finish before Canberra sealed the win in the dying minutes.
Match: Raiders v Roosters
Round 2 -
home Team
Raiders
8th Position
away Team
Roosters
4th Position
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
The Roosters ignited in defence early, with Brydie Parker and Isabelle Kelly pushing the Raiders into touch on their opening set.
With field position in their favour, the Tricolours stormed towards the line. A smart kick from Tarryn Aiken kept the Roosters within range, forcing Canberra to concede a drop-out but the Raiders defence held-on on the ensuing set.
Zahara Temara returned serve three minutes later, poking a grubber through the line to make Corban Baxter take the ball in-goal. A 50-metre drop-out from Jocelyn Kelleher momentarily pushed the hosts back into their half, but it was the error from Raiders halfback Ashleigh Quinlan that alleviated the pressure in defence for the Roosters.
Following a penalty, the Red, White and Blue marched upfield hunting first points. Aiken found her range with another grubber in-goal before Isabelle Kelly dragged Apii Nicholls over the dead-ball line but a knock-on from the restart returned possession to the hosts.
It's All Defence In The Capital
The Raiders continued to apply the pressure in attack, forcing back-to-back goal-line drop-outs through Temara. In the 27th minute the hosts claimed first points when Grace Kemp crashed over from close range before Temara converted to make it 6-0.
Spurred by a strong run from Kerehitina Matua, Canberra started the second-half with a try in their first set after Nicholls found Cheyelle Robins-Reti through an offload following a line break. Temara slotted the conversion, taking the hosts to a 12-point lead.
Simaima Taufa added more points to the Raiders tally in the 46th minute after the hosts kept the ball alive to open up a gap between the posts. Temara extended Canberra's lead to 18 unanswered points from in-front.
Desperate for a response, the Roosters received a penalty after Aiken was collected late by Matua. On the ensuing set, the visitors executed a beautiful left-edge play to send Brydie Parker over in the corner for her first try since returning from an ACL injury.
Parker in the Corner
The Tricolours claimed their second consecutive four-pointer through Aiken who gathered the ball after it ricocheted off her shin and ran 90 metres to score uncontested, but Jocelyn Kelleher was unable to convert the try, leaving the margin at 10.
Aiken Goes All The Way
A grubber from Kelleher caused an error in the in-goal for the Raiders, affording the Roosters the opportunity to score three consecutive tries. An attempted short drop-out by Temara was collected by Keeley Davis on the 10-metre line as the Tricolours plotted another attacking raid.
Later in the set Davis crossed the line to set up a grandstand finish, muscling her way through a crowd of Raiders to get the ball down on the line. Kelleher converted the try to make the score 18-14.
Davis Finds The Line
But an error in the dying minutes from the visitors allowed Canberra to claw one back through Monalisa Soliola, with Temara kicking the conversion to seal the Raiders first win in NRLW history.
Sydney Roosters 14 (Brydie Parker, Tarryn Aiken, Keeley Davis tries, Jocelyn Kelleher goal) Canberra Raiders 24 (Grace Kemp, Cheyelle Robins-Reti, Simaima Taufa, Monalisa Soliola tries, Zahara Temara 4 goals).
